Overview
Iris Bennett has two decades of experience leading cross-border investigations involving over 25 countries, and counseling clients on the investigation, defense, and resolution of white-collar matters. She has represented Fortune 100 corporations and individual clients in matters relating to potential violations of criminal or civil fraud statutes, including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act, the Anti-Kickback Act, and antitrust laws.
Iris regularly advises corporate clients on their anti-corruption compliance programs, specific policies, procedures and compliance questions, and transactional and third-party due diligence. She has designed and led large-scale corporate compliance reviews, audits, and risk assessments. Ranked in Chambers USA and Chambers Global for FCPA, clients note Iris is "an outstanding lawyer, gives excellent advice and has a very good practical understanding of business reality," describing her as "exactly the person you want next to you in an emergency." Additionally, she has been named to the "GIR Top FCPA Practitioners" and "GIR Women in Investigations" lists by Global Investigations Review.
She has represented clients in all phases of US government investigations, settlement, and post-settlement compliance before the Department of Justice Criminal and Civil Divisions and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and with respect to voluntary or mandatory disclosures before these agencies as well as the US Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General. Iris’s broad experience and multi-lingual abilities have enabled her to handle numerous complex, high-stakes investigations. Notably, she served as US counsel to the independent committee appointed by the Board of Directors of Vale S.A., known as the Extraordinary Independent Consulting Committee for Investigation of the Causes and Responsibilities for the Breach of Dam 1 of the Córrego do Feijao Mine, with a mandate to investigate the causes and responsibilities for the 2019 rupture of the Córrego do Feijão tailings dam in Brumadinho, Brazil.
Iris served as the Independent Compliance Monitor for SNC-Lavalin, Inc., with a mandate to review and evaluate that company’s global anti-corruption compliance program on behalf of the World Bank in a matter that involved the longest-ever World Bank debarment and monitorship sanction. Under her oversight, SNC-Lavalin successfully completed its sanctions obligations to develop a robust anti-corruption compliance program and was able to obtain an early release from what had been a 10-year debarment.
Before entering private practice, Iris served as an assistant federal public defender for the District of Columbia Federal Defender.
- District of Columbia
- California
- Virginia
- Supreme Court of the United States
- US District Court, District of Columbia
- US Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
- Hon. David S. Tatel, US Court of Appeals, District of Columbia
- Hon. Robert W. Sweet, US District Court for the Southern District of New York
- J.D., New York University School of Law, 1999, magna cum laude
- A.B., Harvard College, 1989, summa cum laude
Areas of Work
Speaking Engagements
- Co-Panelist, "Are exclusions the new normal?", IBA Annual Conference Paris 2023, Paris, France, November 1, 2023
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Co-Panelist, "ESG: Evolving Regulation and New Enforcement", 19th Annual International Bar Association (IBA) Anti-Corruption Conference, Paris, June 14, 2023
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Speaker, "POCA and FCPA – Pitfalls to Avoid," Steptoe, Control Risks, JSA Advocates and Solicitors, Gurugram, India, April 11, 2023
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"Shadow Investigations What are the Limited to be Respected and the Best Practices," LEC 9th International Compliance Congress, São Paulo, Brazil, September 22, 2022
- "Updates from Brazilian Enforcement Agencies Part II – CGU Experience on Evaluating and Monitoring Anticorruption Compliance Programs," ACI's 11th Summit on Anti-Corruption Brazil, São Paulo, Brazil, May 26, 2022
News & Publications
Client Alerts
FCPA/Anti-Corruption Developments: 2023 Year in Review
April 12, 2024
By: Iris E. Bennett, Rachel B. Peck, Emily L. Shook, Kane Smith
Press Releases
Global Investigations Review Names Steptoe a Top 30 International Investigations Firm
November 21, 2023
Publications
Defense Practice Pointers In Venezuela Bribe Case Dismissal
Law360
August 28, 2023
By: Iris E. Bennett, Patrick F. Linehan, Nicholas P. Silverman, Troy Shephard
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 25 Practice, 72 Individual Mentions in Chambers USA 2023
June 1, 2023
Press Releases
Steptoe Receives 16 Practice, 40 Individual Mentions in Chambers Global 2023
February 21, 2023
Client Alerts
Fifth Circuit's Ruling in United States v. Rafoi
February 15, 2023
By: Iris E. Bennett, Patrick F. Linehan, Lucinda A. Low, Drew C. Harris, Meredith Lewis, Nicholas P. Silverman
Media Mentions
February 10, 2023
Publications
The FCPA's Statutory Defences and Considerations for Corporate Compliance
February 10, 2023
Steptoe Investigations & Enforcement Blog
January 31, 2023
By: Iris E. Bennett, Ali Burney, Brian J. Fleming, Patrick F. Linehan, David M. Stetson, Wendy Wysong, Rachel B. Peck, Ryan Pereira
Resources
Client Alerts
FCPA/Anti-Corruption Developments: 2021 Year in Review
February 15, 2022
By: Iris E. Bennett, Lucinda A. Low, Rachel B. Peck, Brigida Benitez, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong, Jingchun (Cherry) Huang, Samantha McCarthy, James M. Purce, Lin Yang, Bo Yue, Wilson Zhao, Joshua Dupre (law clerk), Zhaoxi Zhang (international paralegal)
Events
Webinars
Quarterly Investigations & Enforcement Update Webinar
May 1, 2024
Speakers: Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Christopher R. Conte, Amba M. Datta, Stacie R. Hartman, Patrick F. Linehan, Lucinda A. Low, Michael Campion Miller, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
Quarterly Investigations & Enforcement Update Webinar
January 25, 2024
Speakers: Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Lee Berger, Christopher R. Conte, Amba M. Datta, Stacie R. Hartman, Lucinda A. Low, John J. Kavanagh, Michael Campion Miller, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
Investigations & Enforcement Webinar Series
October 19, 2023
Speakers: Andrew C. Adams, Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Christopher R. Conte, Stacie R. Hartman, Patrick F. Linehan, Lucinda A. Low, John J. Kavanagh, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
Investigations & Enforcement Webinar Series
January 26, 2023
Speakers: Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Lee Berger, Christopher R. Conte, Amba M. Datta, Coy Garrison, Patrick F. Linehan, Lucinda A. Low, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
Investigations and Enforcement Webinar Series
October 27, 2022
Speakers: Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Coy Garrison, Stacie R. Hartman, Patrick F. Linehan, Lucinda A. Low, Michael Campion Miller, Jason M. Weinstein, Charles Whiddington, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
October 18, 2022
Speakers: Brigida Benitez, Iris E. Bennett, Carlos Ayres, Bruno Maeda, Larry Walker
Webinars
Investigations & Enforcement Webinar Series
July 28, 2022
Speakers: Jason Abel, Iris E. Bennett, Amba M. Datta, Coy Garrison, Lucinda A. Low, Michael Campion Miller, Zoe Osborne, Wendy Wysong
Webinars
Investigations & Enforcement Webinar Series
April 21, 2022
Speakers: Iris E. Bennett, Christopher R. Conte, Stacie R. Hartman, Paul R. Hurst, Lucinda A. Low, Alexandra Melia, Michael Campion Miller, Wendy Wysong, Rachel B. Peck
Noteworthy
- Global Investigations Review: The Top FCPA Practitioners (2021)
- Global Investigations Review, "Women in Investigations: One Hundred Investigation Specialists from Around the World" (2021)
- Chambers Global, International Trade: FCPA, US (2021-2023)
- Chambers USA, International Trade: FCPA, Nationwide (2021-2023)
Professional Affiliations
- Co-Chair, Foreign Training Committee, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Co-Chair, White Collar Committee, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Advisory Board, The Champion journal, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
- Co-Chair, Newsletter Committee, Women’s White Collar Defense Association